Kirkcudbright from above

Kirkcudbright Harbour from above

People in Kirkcudbright are invited to see and remember how their town has changed over the decades.

Eighteen detailed pictures from the days of early aerial photography, taken in the 1930s and ‘40s, will be available for close inspection at the Kirkcudbright Parish Church Hall on Wednesday, 6th August, Thursday 7th August and Friday 8th August between 2pm-5pm. Working with the Kirkcudbright History Society, the organisers of the Britain from Above - Borders project are hoping to hear reminiscences, memories and insights about aspects of the town which are so clear in the photographs and yet may be now changed or gone. The accounts inspired by the photographs will be noted and compiled into a booklet.

The enlarged pictures show both the whole town from several hundred feet as well as more detailed views taken at lower level such as the adjacent photograph of the Harbour Square in 1947, when the fair was in town. There are also views of the Gibb Hill Air Sea Rescue base in 1947, and earlier views of the St. Mary Street/High Street area taken in the 1930s. The images are all part of an extraordinary archive of aerial photographs of much of the UK taken by the Aerofilms company, which was acquired in 2006 by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland, the equivalent Royal Commission for Wales and English Heritage.

The communities of Kirkcudbright and Annan, along with Cockermouth and Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria were especially chosen for this project. The event is free and everybody is very welcome to come along.